Promoting Teacher Effectiveness: Adult Education Teacher ...

Adult Education Teacher Competencies

Acknowledgments

The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)--through a contract1 with the American Institutes for Research and its partners World Education, Inc., and Drennon and Associates--created the Promoting Teacher Effectiveness in Adult Education Project to help improve the quality of adult education teachers in the United States. One goal of the project was to develop Adult Education Teacher Competencies that identify the knowledge and skills expected of any adult education teacher. The following authors contributed to the writing of the Adult Education Teacher Competencies:

Mariann Fedele-McLeod Anestine Hector-Mason Steve Hinds Rob Jenkins Maricel Santos Susan Pimentel Jodi Crandall

Background

A number of recent reports have emphasized the need for improved instruction for adult learners and improved preparation and professional development for adult education teachers. The National Research Council report issued in 2012, Improving Adult Literacy Instruction: Options and Research, notes a number of challenges related to literacy instruction for adults, including one focused on adult literacy instructors. The report notes that "preparation of literacy instructors varies widely and professional development for them is limited" and recommends that "federal and state policy makers should ensure that professional development and technical assistance for instructors are available and consistent with the available research" to improve adult literacy instruction.

The Survey of Adult Skills--part of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies--is an international survey that "measures cognitive and workplace skills [literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving in technological environments] needed for individuals to participate in society and... to prosper." The survey found that the mean score for adults surveyed in the United States was 270, a score that was better than only 6 of the 22 countries surveyed.

1 These materials were developed by American Institutes for Research (AIR), in partnership with the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education of the U.S. Department of Education, as part of the Promoting Teacher Effectiveness in Adult Education Project (ED-CFO-10-A-0066). Patricia Bennett was the Contracting Officer's Representative for this project. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education or the U.S. Department of Education. No official endorsement of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this material is intended or implied.

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Title II, Adult Education and Literacy, of the recently enacted Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014--the successor to the Workforce Investment Act--provides a partial response to the challenge of providing adults in the United States with the cognitive and workplace skills needed for success. It requires that each state develop a plan that stipulates its strategic vision, goals, and operational elements of its adult education program, including using funds to carry out state leadership activities and assess the quality of adult education providers. WIOA also encourages the establishment of a high-quality local education delivery system. When taken together, this body of research and legislation points to the need for a more cohesive approach to teacher professional learning designed to meet the demands of learners in a globally connected, digital world.

The Adult Education Teacher Competencies (the competencies) are one response to the challenges and needs identified in recent surveys of and reports on adult education. The competencies identify the knowledge and skills expected of any adult education teacher. They also offer a structured approach to determining the knowledge and skills that adult education teachers still need to develop and the professional development activities that will help them to acquire them. Although the competencies are focused on the skills needed to teach effectively across subject areas, teachers also need specific content knowledge and skills related to teaching in their particular field, such as English as a second language, mathematics, career or technical training, etc., in order to be effective. There are content area standards, such as those developed by the TESOL International Association,2 that address specific content knowledge.

It is important to remember that adult education teachers are a diverse group who work in a variety of organizations (for example, school districts, community colleges, nonprofit organizations, correctional facilities, and religious institutions) that serve an equally diverse student population with many different learning needs and goals. Adult education programs have diverse education funding sources (e.g., state, federal), geographic contexts (e.g., urban, suburban, rural), and resources. Staffing can be very different as well. For example, some programs may have guidance counselors, test administrators, or full-time professional development staff; others may have only one full-time administrator or teacher who is either responsible for filling all those roles or for referring adult learners to those who might assist them with these tasks normally done by someone in those roles.

Depending on the institutional requirements, adult education teachers may or may not have a degree or a relevant educational background in the subject they teach. They also vary in terms of their job status (part-time, full-time), role (lead teacher, mentor, tutor), and experience (beginning teacher, experienced teacher).

Given these factors, any competencies for adult education teachers in the United States must be transferable across program contexts while also objectively reflecting the knowledge and skills the teachers need to promote student learning. By focusing on instruction and learning, the competencies are designed to support the essential role an adult education teacher plays in any context.

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Development of the Adult Education Teacher Competencies

The Adult Education Teacher Competencies are part of the evidence-based Adult Education Beginning Teacher Induction Toolkit (), which is designed to promote high-quality instruction that leads to student achievement. The competencies were developed in partnership with American Institutes for Research after an extensive review of the literature on teacher competencies and teacher effectiveness, a review by national subject matter experts, an extensive field test in adult education programs, and validation by a wide range of adult education stakeholders from across the country. Almost 2,000 stakeholders engaged in reviewing the competencies at workshops and focus groups at a number of education meetings and conferences, through online discussions, and other outreach efforts.

Organization of the Adult Education Teacher Competencies

The Adult Education Teacher Competencies are designed to identify the knowledge and skills needed by adult education teachers to improve student learning and performance. They are organized into broad areas of skills and knowledge (domains) and then into specific demonstrable and observable areas of performance (competencies). Each of the individual competencies is further detailed through a set of performance indicators with sample illustrations of teachers demonstrating that performance in a variety of adult education contexts. Each area is further defined below.

Domains

Competencies Performance Indicators Sample Illustrations

There are four domains that represent broad areas of activity for an adult education teacher: 1. Monitors and manages student learning and performance through data 2. Plans and delivers high-quality, evidence-based instruction 3. Effectively communicates to motivate and engage learners 4. Pursues professionalism and continually builds knowledge and skills

Within those 4 domains of activity, 17 individual, observable competencies represent the knowledge, skills, and abilities that an adult education instructor should possess to be effective within that domain. Each domain has four to five competencies.

Each competency has a set of indicators that articulate what the performance of this competency looks like in an adult education context.

Each performance indicator is accompanied by a sample illustration that provides examples of the practice in different adult education settings (such as a multilevel English as a second language classroom, a basic literacy class for native English speakers, or an Adult Basic Education reading or mathematics class).

An online teacher self-assessment () tool has been developed to support use of the competencies. Beginning and experienced teachers can use the self-assessment to help identify priority areas for their own professional growth and learning. The self-assessment enables teachers to consider their own ability within each competency and consider the relevance of each competency to their teaching priorities and program priorities. They can then view and reflect on their own results and begin to develop professional learning priorities based on the results of the self-assessment.

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Who Can Benefit From the Adult Education Teacher Competencies?

Beginning and experienced teachers, mentor teachers, instructional leaders, and professional developers all can use the competencies as a structured way of improving instructional practice and identifying professional learning needs to address gaps in skills and knowledge. The competencies provide a framework for what adult education teachers need to know and be able to do to be effective in the classroom and enhance student achievement.

Beginning Teachers

Experienced Teachers

Mentor Teachers

Administrators and Instructional Leaders Professional Developers

The competencies are designed to assist beginning teachers in becoming more effective at helping learners to achieve their goals. Beginning teachers experience a sharp learning curve as they discover how to navigate the demands of the classroom or the program during their first years of teaching. Some adult education teachers may have little prior preparation for their teaching position. However, even those who have had the benefit of a strong teacher preparation program may face a number of challenges for which they may not feel adequately prepared. In addition to teaching responsibilities, they may have to become familiar with program policies, create productive learning environments, plan lessons, plan for professional development, and assess student needs.

Experienced teachers (those teaching in their subject for at least 5?7 years) can also benefit from the competencies. They can reflect on their own practice and engage in self-assessment, comparing their knowledge and skills with those outlined in the competencies. Teachers who received their initial teacher education or training several years ago may find that there is some new knowledge or new skills that they want to acquire through professional development. In addition, experienced teachers often become mentors to beginning teachers (or to teachers who are new to the program).

Mentor teachers can use the competencies as a guide for helping beginning teachers who teach in the same field or subject to develop the required knowledge and skills. Together, a mentor teacher and beginning teacher can analyze and use data from classroom observations and feedback to guide instructional practice. They can identify the domains in which the teacher needs the most support and the types of support or professional development to be offered. The competencies can be used to guide coaching for beginning teachers and help improve a teacher's practice.

The competencies are designed to assist administrators and instructional leaders in guiding their program in the instructional improvement or induction process. Instructional leaders can use the competencies as a guide for classroom observation and also to identify both the specific and more general professional development needs of individual teachers or groups of teachers.

The competencies can also be used to design and guide ongoing professional development that will improve teachers' abilities to address diverse students' learning needs by increasing teachers' content knowledge and teaching skills. They can also be used to develop a community of practice in which teachers share their expertise and learn together to expand their knowledge and teaching skills.

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